UN chief: Nuclear States violated obligations to Ukraine

Photo: http://www.newstimes.com

Tuesday, March 25, 2014, 14:59

UN chief Ban Ki-moon warned against using the crisis in Ukraine as a justification for the desire to obtain nuclear weapons. He said this at the beginning of the nuclear security summit, which takes place from 24 to 25 March in The Hague, according to news agency AFP. “In Ukraine’s case, the security guarantees were fundamental condition of Ukraine’s accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,” – said Ban Ki-moon.

According to the UN Secretary General, the reliability of the guarantees provided to Ukraine by the Budapest Memorandum is “seriously undermined” by the current events in the Crimea. According to Ban Ki-moon, the consequences of conflict around the Crimea for the national security of Ukraine and for national regulations on non-nuclear weapons are deep. “But this cannot justify the desire for nuclear weapons, which would only have increased the insecurity and isolation,” he added.

Advertisement

The Budapest Memorandum: Brother, Can You Spare a Security Assurance?

By Mariana Budjeryn, Central European University

US President Clinton, Russian President Yeltsin and Ukrainian President Kravchuk after signing the Trilateral Statement in Moscow in January 1994 that became the basis for the Budapest Memorandum

As Russia invades Crimea and looks poised for more, politicians have dusted off the 1994 Budapest Memorandum and called on Russia to respect the security assurances it gave Ukraine in exchange for the latter’s denuclearization.  Yet what exactly are these security assurances worth and what mechanisms are available for their enactment?